Author: Rachel Issac

A Chromecast Upgrade, a New App and Much More

Google has announced a bunch of new devices at it’s event tonight, from the Nexus 6P to the Android Marshmallow. Among these, they have also announced a new Chromecast and another Chromecast Audio along with a Chromecast App.

So let’s have a look at all of them one by one.

The Chromecast: has been one of Google’s most successful ventures and it has decided to bring in a second option, an upgrade. The new Chromecast comes in a circular shape instead of a dongle shape. It also comes with an HDMI cable and various colours such as – lemonade, coral and black.

The new device comes with a new adaptive antenna system which allows it to stream higher resolution videos and can also support up to 5GHz Wi-Fi now. As mentioned earlier, there were speculations that it might come with a ‘fast play’ feature – well it does. This feature gives it the ability to establish a connection with the TV set much faster than the original version.

Google has also announced that you will now be able to use Spotify on your TV and Google Photos too. The Chromecast will go on sale starting today in 17 countries on Google Store, Best Buy or Wal-Mart. Obviously, you’ll get the best deal on Google Store.

The Chromecast Audio : is an extension that Google has created, for a higher audio experience. It looks almost like the new Chromecast except with a 3.5mm audio port instead of an HDMI. This audio port will conveniently plug directly into the back of your speaker, allowing you to stream audio over Wi-Fi from all your existing apps.

The Chromecast Audio will also support and cast music from Spotify, Play Music or Pandora and is expected to come with a multi-room audio streaming soon.

The Chromecast App: This app is pronounced as being “completely redesigned”. How? Well firstly, it shows you the popular activities on their ‘partner’ apps like – Twitch, ESPN, YouTube, Hulu, Netflix. Then, it also shows you content from apps you have installed on your smartphone. The company also announced that most of the apps would be cast-enabled, along with this, they’ve also added some playback controls on the app which should make accessing it much easier. You can also use voice search to access things within the Chromecast app and is universal across all services. The ‘Fast Play’ feature will allow you to pre-fetch video streams on the Chromecast app.

As if this wasn’t enough, the new app can also guess what you might want to watch as soon as you open an app, and will start caching the stream in the background. How cool is that? Oh, and did we mention that the app also supports Netflix (for those of you who have access to it). However, they have mentioned that some of the content prediction features will roll out next year. The new app will be rolling out on the Android and iOS devices soon.

September 30, 2015
Google Announces All New features For the Marshmallow

By now, we’re all mostly aware of the Android Marshmallow and how it’s different from the previous versions. However, at its mega event, Google has announced a couple of new features to its already new Marshmallow version, and here they are.

Firstly, they’ve announced that you can voice stream from the lock screen itself. Basically you have to swipe from a corner to launch it and it’s up and running.

Google also detailed its charging abilities, so now, the Marshmallow can tell you whether you are on the fast-charging mode and also tells you how long until your phone is fully charged.

Google also talked about the app drawer and revealed that the new app drawer will help us look for apps much faster, because it will arrange the apps according to our usage of it. Bringing the most used apps at the top of the app drawer, making them much faster to access.

The company also announced something exciting – the new Nexus devices which come with the Android marshmallow will not have as many ‘pre-loaded’ app. Which means, that since they’re going to be “post-set up”, you can eventually uninstall them, if necessary.

Next, they elaborated further about the ‘Now On Tap’ feature, which basically allows you to search Google automatically from any app, if you press the home button for long enough. They’ve added voice interactions to this, so now you can control apps with your voice. Google also mentioned that the “Okay Google” detection will now work when the screen is switched off too.

Here’s something new about the battery too. The Android Marshmallow will also come with a new “doze” mode that informs apps to sleep (for lack of a better word), when the phone hasn’t been used for awhile. So, when the screen is switched off, the battery life will be 30 percent longer than in previous versions.

The Android marshmallow will roll out on the new Nexus 6P and 5X next week. Till then if you want to brush up on your Android Marshmallow history then look no further and click here.

September 29, 2015
Everything You Can Expect Google’s Upcoming Nexus Event

Here’s some exciting news for today – Google has an event on the 29th of September 2015 where they will be releasing the new Nexus phones along with revealing more details about Android Marshmallow. Google will reportedly reveal the new Chromecast and a partnership with Spotify.

Here are a few details about what we know about the upcoming products so far via public reports and rumours.

Nexus 5X

Firstly, the LG Nexus 5X is expected to come with a bigger 5.2 inch display and a 1080p resolution. The second feature that has been suggested by leaked images, is a support for fingerprint scanners. On the camera front, the Nexus 5X seems to provide a protruding camera, however it is one that will have an increased 13MP sensor. Apart from that, there could also be a 5MP front camera. This handset is rumoured to be powered by the Snapdragon 808 processor with a 2 or 3 GB RAM along with storage options that are expected to be 16GB and 32GB. The smartphone might also come with a USB Type-C.

Nexus 6P

The next device which is the Huawei Nexus 6P will come with a new design, if reports are to be believed. The leaked images show a rectangular frame with curved edges and a flat metal pack, and is expected to come in four colour variants of silver, black, white and gold. The phone will also come with a new fingerprint scanner but a smaller display of an estimate 5.7 inches. The Nexus 6P could be powered by Snapdragon 810 and can come with a 3GB RAM. The storage of this device is expected to start at 32GB and go all the way up to 128GB. However, the camera seems to be lower in quality with an 11MP sensor at the rear but a rather impressive 7MP on the front.

Android Marshmallow

The other exciting thing that is going to be announced at the event is the launching of Android Marshmallow. Google is expected to give us a date for the release of this version. Let’s see whether Google has anything else to add apart from what we know.

Chromecast Second Gen & Audio

Google is also expected to release two new chromecast devices – the second gen chromecast and the chromecast audio. The new Chromecast second gen is expected to come with a new rounder looking design, thereby doing away with the whole ‘dongle’ look. Other upgrades include faster WiFi and something called Fast Play. The Chromecast Audio, on the other hand, supports every feature that a music lover might need, like podcasts, radio, and a multi-room audio. This device is also rumoured to partner with Spotify and thereby enhancing its features.

That is all that we know till now. So stay tuned and we’ll bring you all the latest updates from the Google evnt on the 29th of September 2015.

September 27, 2015
YU to Release Another Mystery Flagship Smartphone Soon

YU had very recently launched the Yunique on the 8th of September 2014. This was it’s first affordable LTE-capable smartphone. Just today, founder Rahul Sharma tweeted hinting that another smartphone may already be on its way.

Micromax spinoff YU Televentures was formed with the aim to bring exciting products through innovating and reinventing technology. Their motto #YUPlayGod suggested that we, the consumers were in charge of developing the kind of products we wanted. YU Yureka was the first smartphone from the Indian-bred smartphone manufacturing firm to gain recognition in the international market; it offered good specs at an affordable price. It was the first Indian-origin smartphone that could stand in the marketplace flooded with Chinese and Taiwanese electronics.

Today, Rahul Sharma tweeted:

After the minion monster #YUNIQUE can't wait to present the #Real Beast. Let the countdown begin

— Rahul Sharma (@rahulsharma) September 25, 2015

Well, the only thing we are able to decipher from this tweet is that the next smartphone could possibly be a flagship. As of now their latest smartphone Yunique is priced at Rs. 4,999 but since the upcoming smartphone is expected to be a flagship, the price could also possibly be higher than the Yu Yunique.

Currently, however, the Yureka Plus comes at Rs. 8,999 which is the most expensive smartphone in the Yu line. So, if they’re planning to stick to their own style of producing affordable mobiles with high specs then the upcoming handset also should not be priced too far from what they already have. Till then let’s keep our fingers crossed for a blockbuster.

September 25, 2015
LG Releases Teaser For an Upcoming Phone With an Asymmetrical Screen

Yesterday, LG released its first teaser for a new smartphone. The first thing we notice about this phone is its unusual screen. Basically it has added an additional smaller screen on top of the regular one.

Take a look at the teaser:

This feature had however, been leaked earlier in September, but this teaser confirms its existence. The leak showed the additional ticker next to the front dual cameras, and above the regular screen. This feature however, give the phone an asymmetrical look when turned off.

Nothing more has been revealed in the teaser about the new LG smartphone’s specs. However, @evleaks had previously leaked that the handset could possible arrive with a 5.7 inch QHD screen, powered by the Snapdragon 808, with an internal storage of 64GB with a micro SD card and a 3GB of RAM. It’s primary camera is expected to be a 16MP one along with a 5MP front camera.

This unnamed LG device is scheduled to be unveiled on the 1st of October, 2015.

September 25, 2015
In Australia, a Robot Waited in Line to Buy the New iPhone 6s

The possession of an iPhone right after its release is not an easy task, you’ll have to wait in long lines outside stores for days until you receive it. Seems like a horribly inconvenient thing to do, especially when your life really doesn’t come to a standstill just because the new iPhone has come to town. But a lady is Australia has found the perfect solution to get her iPhone while standing in the long line and at the same time go to work.

The idea is something like Sheldon Cooper’s TV Robot, in the episode where he was ill and hence created a virtual robot with a TV Screen attached to a Segway-type device, which could go to work while he was lying in bed sick at home.

Lucy Kelly a resident of Sydney, Australia has used a telepresence robot to stand in line instead of her. It is basically an iPad attached to a sleek segway looking device. This robot reportedly arrived at the Apple store at 5:00am and is fourth in line to receive the new iPhone 6s. Further reports also suggest that Kelly’s company often uses this device to attend meetings half way around the world.

“We use them for everything, just to show new technology. It is a cool demonstration of what the future of technology will be,” said Kelly

This device works through an app that allows people to connect from anywhere and communicate via an iPad. The device is in line forthe iPhone 6s and 6s Plus which is arriving first in Australia. The question now arises about an overnight stay. Where is the robot going to find shelter? Well Kelly has taken care of it. The robot, who is named Lucy will stay in a special tent that comes with a charger and keeps it dry in case it begins to rain. Once the momentous time arrives, the robot will be able to buy the iPhone 6s without human interaction.

Good luck to Lucy. Maybe gen-next is getting smarter because as long as you are get inspired by Sheldon Cooper, you should be just fine.

Source : [tw-button size=”small” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”In Australia, a Robot Named Lucy Waited in Line to Buy the New iPhone 6s http://1gn.in/1NQ3iir”]Mashable[/tw-button]

September 25, 2015
New Leak Reveals OnePlus Mini’s Specifications

Today, a AnTuTu benchmark run revealed a device allegedly called the OnePlus A2301. According to further reports, this phone could be the second device that OnePlus is expected to release this year after the OnePlus 2.

The device is touted to be called the OnePlus Mini. It comes with 2GB of RAM, powered by a MediaTek MT6795T processor running at 2.2GHz and a PowerVR Rogue G6200 series GPU. It has an internal storage capacity of 32GB and also comes with a 13MP rear camera. However, the site does not mention anything about the screen size but if this is the OnePlus Mini then it will definitely be smaller than the 5 inch screen of the OnePlus 2.

It is also expected to have a 1920 x 1080p resolution, a Type-C USB 3.0 connector and a fingerprint reader at the back. The operating system according to the AnTuTu benchmark tests could be the Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with the Oxygen OS on top of Android. The render further suggests that this handset will also come with a 2 camera set and dual-LED flash below it.

Price wise it should be lower than the OnePlus 2, however all this information is based on the AnTuTu releases and nothing has been confirmed by the Chinese vendor itself.

September 24, 2015
Motorola India to Offer 2nd Gen Moto E 4G LTE Off the Shelf

In the midst of Chinese vendors threatening to take over Indian markets with their smartphones, Motorola India seems to be upping their game plan. This time they are creating a wider range of offline and online retailers through their distribution partner, Brightstar India for easier and wider access to their handsets.

Some of us, still prefer going to a store and examining a product before availing of it. For this lot, Motorola will for the first time make the 2nd Gen Moto E 4G LTE available off the shelf at select Airtel stores across the country. Along with this, they are also looking towards their e-shoppers and will start offering the Moto E 3G/4G LTE, September 25 onwards, on Amazon India and Snapdeal.

“Consumers are at the heart of whatever we do and we will leave no stone unturned to enhance their buying experiences.” said Mr. Amit Boni, General Manager, Motorola Mobility India.

Oh well, Motorola does seem to be on their toes this season and hopefully they continue to do so.

September 24, 2015
Upcoming HTC One A9 Expected To Arrive in Six Colours

There’s a new leak about the HTC One A9 today on Twitter from the (in)famous @evleaks account. The new leak confirms two things – the handset will arrive in six colour variants and is definitely inspired from the iPhone’s design.

The six colours will reportedly include – Acid Gold, Opal Silver, Deep Garnet, Carbon Gray, Rose Gold, and Cast Iron.

Other previous rumours about the specifications for the HTC One A9 suggest that it could come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chipset, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable memory, 13MP main camera with OIS, 4MP front-facing snapper, and Android Marshmallow. All of that along with a 5 inch 1080p AMOLED display and 2,150mAh battery.

The smartphone is expected to be revealed on the 29th of September, 2015. Till then sit tight for this iPhone look-a-like, while we bring you more information about it soon.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”https://twitter.com/evleaks?ref_src=twsrc^tfw”]Twitter[/tw-button]

September 24, 2015
Meet Spot, The US Marines’ New Robo-Dog for War

The military is always coming up with new things to help their combat strategy. Recently we heard of various countries such as China, Japan and the USA creating robot dogs to help in combat. Meanwhile, Boston Dynamics has created Spot. Who is Spot? Spot is a robo-dog who is very different from his contemporaries. He’s said to be ‘tinier’, and a more ‘agile iteration’ of his predecessors.

Spot weighs 160 pounds, is hydraulically actuated with a sensor on its nose to help in navigation and is controlled by a laptop-connected game controller, which can be used by a hidden operator up to 1,600 feet away. This robo-canine is not too new, as he was unveiled in February 2015, however, reports suggest that last week it was put through a series of simulated combat scenes ranging from forests to urban fighting situations.

These tests have been conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab. Spot is now being experimented with, by putting him in situations which would otherwise use real dogs or people. If successful, robo-dogs like Spot could make a difference in the infantry with their abilities of being able to ‘clear rooms and scout for threats.’

Watch the video below and let us know what you think of this new development:

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/09/marines-give-googles-latest-robot-a-tryout-as-working-dog/”]arstechnica[/tw-button]

September 24, 2015
Benchmark Tests Reveal iPhone 6s is as Powerful as the Retina Macbook 2015

Watching an event and seeing the new iPhone 6s is really not the same as actually having it in your hand and unboxing it yourself. Unboxing a new phone is as surreal as ripping open your birthday gift, except you really don’t want to rip open the iPhone 6s box. So, here’s what you should do – an iPhone user named Adrienne Alpern from California, just received her all-new rose gold iPhone 6s and at the request of her friends unboxed it with care, took some cool pictures and even put the device through a Geekbench 3 benchmark test.

Now reports have suggested some mighty good things about the new device. The scores from Geekbench benchmark suggest that the iPhone 6s is as powerful as the 12 inch Retina Macbook released on April 2015. The iPhone 6s has scored 2,292 in the single core test while scoring a 4,293 in the multi core test. These numbers are very close to the Retina Macbook scores. Have a look yourself :

What makes the iPhone 6s better? Well, Adrienne Alpern has also posted a couple of 4k videos showing off the 12MP rear camera and the 8MP front camera.

Here is a video:

https://twitter.com/MoonshineDesign/status/646173936556703745?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

#iphone6s videos are being compressed by @Twitter. I'll post more tomorrow. Here's the horizontal video #sanDiego pic.twitter.com/4q4gt2OgCO

— Adrienne (@MoonshineDesign) September 22, 2015

And even the rose gold seems to be working very well for the new device. This is all we have for you to gorge on until our own unboxing of the iPhone 6s. So stay tuned.

September 23, 2015

Xiaomi Mi 4c Will Not Launch In India

Xiaomi unveiled its Mi 4c yesterday at Rs.13,500 and after studying its specs we soon realised that it was a whole lot like the OnePlus 2 and could be Xiaomi’s unofficial response to its competition. However, unlike most Chinese vendor smartphones that eventually get released in India a little later, Xiaomi’s India rep confirmed to iGyaan that this phone will not get released in India. Despite that, let us have a look at its features since it’s OnePlus’ new competitor.

The phone features a 5-inch 1080p display and the ‘Sunlight Display’ is said to offer “excellent visibility in bright conditions”. The phone comes with a 13-megapixel primary camera with face detection autofocus – like the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6 – for quicker autofocusing. The smartphone will be available in two variants – 16 GB internal with 2 GB RAM and 64 GB internal with 3 GB RAM.

In the camera department, the Mi 4c and OnePlus 2 stand on even grounds, at least on paper. However, the Mi 4c boasts of a better camera quality using the same autofocus technology as the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6. For a low budget phone, the Mi 4c also packs a powerful 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor.

Here are the specs:

Specs	Xiaomi Mi 4c
Display	5-inch, IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen,
Resolution	1,080 x 1,920 pixels, 441 ppi
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 64-bit hexa-core processor
GPU	Adreno 418
RAM	2/3 GB
Storage	16 GB/ 32 GB
Rear Camera	13 MP rear camera, dual-tone flash
Front Camera	5 MP wide-angle front
Expandability	N/A
Battery	3080 mAh battery
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot4G LTE, USB Type-C connector with Quick Charge 2.0 fast charging
OS	Android 5.1 Lollipop
Price	Rs. 13,500 (16 GB), Rs. 15,500 (32 GB) Approx.

September 23, 2015

PM Narendra Modi and His Twitter Governance: What’s It All About?

No matter how niche and exclusive you might consider yourself, you can’t stay away from the magnetic power of the social media for too long. Today is the age of the mango people, if they don’t want you, you’re finished. Social media has strengthened and toppled people over for as long as we know it. One of the world’s biggest example is reality star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian and how she has used social media to up her status since the time she appeared on reality TV.

Today, we’re going to talk about someone closer to home; our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Just like you, Narendra Modi likes to keep a track of his followers, and the number of likes he gets on his tweets. Modi has reached a new milestone via his Twitter account; he now has 15 million followers, making him the second most followed politician in the world after US President Barack Obama. He is also India’s third most followed person on Twitter after Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachan, now that’s saying something.

Before PM Modi there was Shashi Tharoor and his infamous tweets, so he’s not the first Indian politician to use the Twitter platform, but he is definitely our country’s first PM who has done so. His digital presence has heralded the idea of ‘Digital Governance’ and ‘Digital Diplomacy’ in India. Ever since his ‘golden tweet’ after his victory in the Lok Sabha Elections, his presence on Twitter has increased so much that he has the five most shared tweets of all time in his list of achievements on social media.

Here they are :

India has won! ???? ?? ????? ????? ??? ??? ???? ????

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 16, 2014

Congrats Team India. Well played. We are all very proud of you.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 15, 2015

India mourns the loss of a great scientist, a wonderful President & above all an inspiring individual. RIP Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 27, 2015

Victory & defeat are a part of life. Team India played great cricket throughout the tournament. We are proud of them.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 26, 2015

Spoke to @ArvindKejriwal & congratulated him on the win. Assured him Centre's complete support in the development of Delhi.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 10, 2015

Let’s talk a little bit about how the idea of ‘diplomatic governance’ is being promulgated via Twitter. There’s a reason we all know about #SwachchBharat, #MannKiBaat and #SelfieWithDaughter. Modi cleverly used the social media platform to show the benevolent side of himself with all the above hashtags becoming pretty popular along with the idea behind it. Whether you agreed with it or not is another topic altogether, but the fact remains that the message got through to the intended masses.

Here are a couple of Tweets that come under the digital governance idea :

I urge all of you, share a #SelfieWithDaughter. Also share a tagline that will encourage 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' : PM @narendramodi

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 28, 2015

Let us join Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan with a spirit of patriotism & fulfil Gandhi ji's dream of a Clean India. http://t.co/sKxTVaf0p2

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 2, 2014

This month’s 'Mann Ki Baat' episode will be a special one, where our Republic Day guest @BarackObama & I will share our thoughts together.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 22, 2015

Moving on to ‘digital diplomacy,’ PM Modi has been keeping his powerful and famous friends very close on social media, his tweets are as celebrity-like as it gets. Have a look:

My gratitude to @UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon for his good wishes. India values our long & proud relationship with the UN.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2014

This Republic Day, we hope to have a friend over…invited President Obama to be the 1st US President to grace the occasion as Chief Guest.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 21, 2014

Modi is striking a chord with the youth, the people have an opinion about their PM, what more can a self-proclaimed ‘people’s’ PM hope for? .

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, middle, takes a selfie next to Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Is it good or is it bad? We don’t know, but we definitely have an opinion. He has a plan to reach out to his people, he’s crafting his public image very carefully via a not so subtle social media website for youngistaan. Let’s just hope he can rise above his celebrity status.

Have a strong opinion about this? Comment below and share it with us.

September 23, 2015
Could ‘The Big Short’ Be Michael Lewis’ Third Oscar Nomination?

After the success of Moneyball, another adaptation of Michael Lewis’ is all set to perhaps win itself an Oscar nomination. This year its an adaptation of ‘The Big Short’ which definitely seems like a fall movie you wouldn’t want to miss, even if you eventually hate it.

The film is about the 20s economic meltdown in America, and show four investment bankers predict the crash and “betting on the American economy”. If you watch the trailer you’ll find that you can expect some big ideas and a good amount of comic relief with lines such as – “If you tell me the difference between stupidity and illegal, I’ll have my wife’s brother arrested.”

The trailer most obviously, shows off their star cast – Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Mr.Batman – Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling in a stereotypical looking investment banker avatar. The film is being directed by Adam McKay and will be closing the AFI festival on November 12th, 2015.

A shot from The Big Short with Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling

This is perhaps the first time we’ll be the watching a story about people who reaped the benefits of that economic crash that shattered the rest of the country. It’s a new angle with hopefully stellar performances.

The Big Short is slated for a limited release on the 11th of December, 2015 and a worldwide release on the 23rd of December, 2015. Meanwhile, if you’re bored, go catch Black Mass and The Intern and let us know whether they’re overrated or not.

September 23, 2015
Rumour: Galaxy S7 Might Be Samsung’s First Full Metal Device

The tech world is really fast when it comes to improving things. Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge + is still pretty new and there are already rumours afloat about what might be called the Galaxy S7. Apparently, the new smartphone might use magnesium alloy in the construction of its body.

While, the Galaxy S6 uses an aluminum frame and a glass body, the rumoured S7 could be Samsung’s first full metal flagship device, ever. The reason for this is reportedly because the metal is lighter and more durable as compared to its glass-bodied devices, plus magnesium generates much less heat than aluminum, which is something the smartphone industry is definitely looking at as a feature in all their phones.

Finally, the galaxy S7 is allegedly coming out in the first half of 2016, there’s not much else that is known about this device, as of now.

September 19, 2015